A flexible electronic component, such as a flexible electronic circuit, a sensor tag, a flexible OLED light or a display, is a multi-layered stack typically formed of both brittle and organic layers. In some cases, the flexible electronic component may include built-in strains that exist in one or more layers of the component due to the processing conditions of the component (e.g., temperature induced strain). In any case, as a flexible electronic component is typically produced on a flat surface, a curvature or bending of the flexible electronic component creates a certain strain profile in the layers of the component. The strain profile created by the curvature of bending of the component, as well as any built-in strains that may exist within the component, may, in turn, cause one or more of the layers of the flexible electronic component to buckle, crack, or otherwise become damaged. The organic layers in a flexible electronic component can typically withstand strains up to 8% before breaking or deforming in a non-elastic way. The brittle, inorganic layers in a flexible electronic component can, however, only typically withstand strains of approximately 1% before buckling or cracking, depending of course on the processing conditions of the component. As such, the brittle layers of the flexible electronic component generally buckle or crack first in response to excess strain.
When a flexible electronic component is bent or curved, the outer radius of the component will be under tension, while the inner radius will be under compression. At some point in the layer stack of the component, the neutral plane, where there is no tension or compression upon bending, can be found. The layer stacking, the layer thickness, and the layer properties, such as the Young's modulus, determine the position of the neutral plane; for a symmetrical stack of layers the neutral plane is generally located near a middle of the stack. Based on the exact location of the neutral plane and the maximum tolerable strain value (e.g., 1%), the minimum bending radius can be determined for each of the layers in the component. Because, as noted above, the brittle, inorganic layers in the component can typically withstand less strain than the organic layers, the brittle layers typically have a greater minimum bending radius than the organic layers. In turn, the greater minimum bending radius of these brittle layers governs or controls the amount of bending or curvature that the flexible electronic component can undergo before the component is damaged.
To provide support to the flexible electronic component and prevent a user of the flexible electronic component from bending or flexing the display beyond such a minimum bending radius, and, thus, prevent damage to the component, the component can be attached to a mechanical support structure. International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2006/085271, for example, describes attaching a metal leaf spring to a flexible display. The problem with attaching a flexible electronic component to a mechanical support structure, such as, for example, a metal leaf spring, is that the attachment of the mechanical support structure to the component causes the neutral plane to shift from its initial position (in the component) to a position within the mechanical support structure. Because of the relationship between the location of the neutral plane and the minimum bending radius, shifting the neutral plane in this way significantly increases the minimum bending radius of the layers in the component, particularly the brittle layers in the component. In doing so, the mechanical support structure can serve to significantly reduce, if not effectively destroy, the bending or flexing ability of the flexible electronic component.